


Fallen Leaves

by RedWritingHood



Series: Feet on ground, you'll come round [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: A Good Knight's Sleep, And A Good Night's Sleep, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family, Gen, Not Even I Laughed At That One, These Are Too Many Tags, ha, i crack myself up, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 10:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14953151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedWritingHood/pseuds/RedWritingHood
Summary: Bruce...Can we stop someday? I know you're tired. I'm tired, too. We all are.





	Fallen Leaves

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song of the same name by The Deep Dark Woods, because it was playing in my head when I wrote it. The series title is from Human by Aquilo. That song probably suits this more than Fallen Leaves does, but oh well.

Bruce...do you ever pause for a moment and think, ' _Maybe this is a bad idea_ '? Do you ever stop to contemplate the intricate path you're carving for yourself?

No. Probably not. I can't even imagine it. The quiet, the stillness of you in your uncertainty. The tense, guarded, vulnerable lines of your shoulders as you think to yourself, _What if. What if I'm doing this wrong. What if I, my ideals, my methods, what if they're not right?_

What if you're not right, Bruce. What if you're not righteous, not _justified_?

And what if I'm not right about you?

Is it the fear, the anger, the dark thoughts that keep you up at night? Is that why you armor yourself in Kevlar and shadows? Do you dream about your mistakes? Keep them in mind always, in neat, numbered files of self-recrimination? _Mistake #348: too late again. Must get faster. Stronger. Better. Never stop. Can't stop. Won't._

You're hard on everyone but harder on yourself. You blame yourself for everything. You blame yourself for being human.

Bruce...

Can we stop someday? I know you're tired. I'm tired, too. We all are.

Let's stop someday. It doesn't have to be today. It can be years from now. But let's hang up our masks and our suits. Let's stop blaming ourselves. We'll go somewhere besides Gotham and enjoy being free, for a little while, at least. I know you wouldn't be able to stay away too long.

We'll find peace, Bruce. We have to. I can't keep dreaming of my grave. And you...

God, take that stupid memorial out of the Cave, would you? It's not doing anyone any good.

Let's find peace, Bruce. Together. Then maybe I can finally catch up on my reading. There are a lot of books in your library I haven't gotten my hands on yet.

I know I can take them whenever I want, that's not the point. When would I even have the time, huh--

What? Shut up, you can't just-- just say that outta nowhere--

I...I love you, too.

...

Okay, enough of that, old man. Yeah, you are that old, do you even hear yourself sometimes--

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this and then I went to bed, the end.


End file.
